HomeMy WebLinkAboutVLMDAC Minutes 11 17 11 FINAL1Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council
The Antlers Lodge
Thursday, November 17, 2011
8:30-11:30am
VLMDAC Members Present: Laurie Mullen (West Vail Liquor Mart); Susie Tjossem (Vail Town Council);
Skip Thurnauer; Pete Hayda, Vice Chair (Rock Resorts); John Dawsey, Treasurer (CME); Jamie Gunion
(Vail Recreation District)
Absent: Adam Sutner (Vail Resorts)
Also Present: Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail); Kristin Yantis (MYPR); Kristina Johnson (Vail Valley
Partnership); Jessica Stevens (Vail Valley Partnership); Jill Lammers (Vail Valley Partnership); Meggen
Kirkham (SITE Marketing); Amy Parliament (RTP); Robin Litt (Vail Jazz Foundation); Ellen Miller; Meredith
Richards (Bravo!); Sybill Navas (Commission on Special Events); Kelli Moen (Booyah!); Jenn Bruno
(Commission on Special Events); Joyce Gettelman (CSE); Amanda Jensen (CSE); Bobby Bunks (CSE); Rayla
Kundolf (CSE); Cali Atkinson (CSE)
Via Phone: Beth Slifer, Chair (Slifer Designs); Mia Vlaar (East West Resorts); Ilene Rapkin (I-Openers);
Brian Smith (Booyah!)
The meeting was called to order at 8:31.
I. October Financials – Kelli McDonald
a. Revenues are tracking ahead of projections and expenses are tracking the way they
should and will be coming in under budget by the end of the year.
II. Approval of Minutes from the October 20 VLMDAC meeting: Upon motion duly made and
seconded, it was unanimously resolved to approve the meeting minutes of October 20, 2011
as presented. Motioned/John Dawsey. Seconded/Laurie Mullen. Passed unanimously.
III. Discussion of recommended funding allocations: CSE funding.
a. CSE began the discussion by describing which events had their funding cut and the
reasoning behind their decisions.
i. The South of the Border Fiesta funding was cut because CSE did not feel it
properly mirrored or enhanced the Vail brand. $10,000 was allocated to this
event last year.
ii. Vail CarniVail will not be funded mainly because it is held over a popular
weekend and with the addition of new events, funding needed to be cut
somewhere. $8,000 was allocated to this event last year.
iii. The BBQ Bonanza will not be funded this year because it needs increased
funding and CSE was unable to fulfill this request. In the future, in order to
expand the BBQ, it should not be on the same day as the Farmer’s Market so
that the Meadow Drive venue would be available for the BBQ competition.
iv. If any of these events can find new sponsorship on their own, they might return
in the future.
a. Teva Mountain Games - The Teva Summer Games are the highest scoring event. This
year because of the addition of the Teva Winter games, funding for the Teva Summer
Games was cut slightly.
b. Mojo Man - A new Memorial Day event, Mojo Man, will take place this year. It was
discussed that the money coming from the Vail Local Marketing District should be used
only for marketing of Mojo Man, not to actually create the event. CSE is asking Vail Local
Marketing District for $25,000 to market Mojo Man.
c. Vail Film Festival - Concerns were expressed about the current facility for the Vail Film
Festival. Size? Accessibility? With more sponsorship, the VFF is able to stand more
firmly on its own. Because of this, CSE has pulled back a little funding. VFF needs to
start marketing to a broader audience to drive more overnight stays.
d. Vail Snow Daze - The funding for this event decreased from $64,000 last year to $50,
000 this year. CSE combined funding for Snow Daze and Holidaze this year. Susie
Tjossem: Snow Daze energizes a slow time in Vail. It’s the single most effective event to
drive business during a slow time.
e. Vail America Days - CSE is keeping the budget for this event the same as last year. It is
the single busiest day of the year in Vail. CSE is trying to improve event by giving it new
energy, looking for new sponsorships and possibly adding more fun family activities that
will keep people in town following the parade. Beth Slifer (on the phone): Has anyone
approached the Rotary about organizing this event? It used to be run by volunteers. Is it
possible to do this again? It has been funded by the TOV. Pete Hayda: Should this be
funded differently? Susie Tjossem: It is not really negotiable. The town needs a parade
and fireworks. There should be things going on all day so people stay in town for the
whole day. It is necessary to discuss this event and staff for this event in further detail at
a later time.
f. Vail Restaurant Month - CSE wants to work with Vail Local Marketing District on this,
because it is a strong event. There is a fine line between funding for the actualization of
this event and funding for the marketing of this event. Marketing money should only be
used to market it. The CSE requested $25,000 from VLMD budget for this
g. The America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament- This event brought in a great
crowd and fit the Vail brand. It’s held at a great time of year and put Vail on the “fishing”
map.
h. Lacrosse Shootout - This is an iconic event.
i. Gourmet on Gore - The addition of Monday to this event was successful.- and will be
expanded in 2012.
j. Farmers’ Market - CSE loves this event, but feels it can start standing on its own with
other sponsorship. Because of this, CSE reduced funding this year. Susie Tjossem:
Would like to see this event run through the whole month of September. Kelli
McDonald: They will this next year. This event receives funding from the Meadow Drive
Partnership, who owns the event, as well.
k. Kick It 3v3 Soccer Tournament - This is the busiest weekend of the summer. It brings in
the right people.
l. Vail Kids Adventure Race - CSE gave them $5,000 this year. This event has incredible
potential. It is a great event and will hopefully become a signature event. Amanda
Jensen: It’s the Vail brand all the way – a fun, family focus. Next year, maybe take it into
Lionshead on Sunday and possibly expand the event by adding clinics.
m. Vail Soul Music Festival - This year CSE reduced funding for this event. Much like the
film festival, this event needs help operationally and getting more sponsors. Concerns
were expressed about the lack of local participation in this event. This is the year for this
event to succeed. Sybill Navas: Rhonda brings in great music. Susie Tjossem: This event
sort of flies under the radar. Pete Hayda: This is an opportunity to help market a great
event. It is important to take it on as a marketing opportunity and take more ownership
for this event. Lots of people come in from out of town and we should want to fill in the
gaps with the local people.
n. Lamb Cook Off - This event will receive the same amount of funding as last year.
o. Oktoberfest - Funding for this event is $50,000 for this year, which is a slight dip from
last year. There is a discrepancy on the handout ($5,000).
p. Spring Back to Vail - This event received less funding this year because of Mojo Man and
the Teva Mountain Games. CSE felt this event could handle the decrease in funding.
q. Vail Symposium – This will receive $25,000 this year from Council Contributions.
r. Lionshead Family Fun Day (formerly Saturday Afternoon Club) - CSE felt they needed to
inject more events into Lionshead, particularly since they had declined to fund the South
of the Border Fiesta, so they increased the funding of the Lionshead Family Fun Day to
$20,000 for ten Saturdays this year because it was much more in sync with the “Vail
Brand.” CSE is looking for events to expand out into the rest of Lionshead, instead of
having events that are only held at the Arrabelle. Concerns about the liquor license and
cost of security at the Arrabelle were discussed. Susie Tjossem: The liquor license is an
issue with the Arrabelle and security for these events is really expensive. Amanda
Jensen: There is a tight perimeter for the liquor license with the Arrabelle and it does
affect the events in Lionshead.
s. Softball tournament - This event was reduced from two tournaments to one weekend
tournament over Labor Day weekend this year. Fifteen teams will participate. CSE felt
this was a good investment because the teams will be staying overnight for their
tournament.
t. Vail Valley Soccer Club - This was allocated $2,000 this year.
u. Vail Arts Festival - This event was allocated $10,000 this year, which is a slight reduction
from last year.
v. King of the Mountain Volleyball - This event was allocated $4,000 this year.
w. Grand Fondo World - This is an international mass-participation cycling event for pros
and amateurs alike. CSE feels strongly about the potential success of this event, but ran
out of money for funding. This would be a great event to combine with the USA Pro
Cycling Challenge in order to keep people in town. CSE would like to give them $50,000
seed money. This is the event to help out because the start and finish line is in Vail and it
attracts an international clientele. CSE has allocated $14,500, which was all that was
remaining in their budget after all other priorities were determined. They will request
the remainder from Council.
x. Pink Vail - This event did not receive funding because March 3rd is not a need time and
the organizers of this event said it would happen with or without CSE funding.
y. Divas Marathon - They asked for $75,000 this year. CSE did not fulfill this request
because they did not think they would get a good return on their investment.
z. Vail Whitewater Kayak - Allocated $2,000 this year. CSE felt this event is important
because it showcases the white water park and provides an activity at a time when
there is little else going on.
aa. Vail CarniVail - This event takes place over President’s weekend. CSE felt funding is
better utilized by getting people into town. Because of the new Mojo man event,
funding needed to be cut somewhere.
IV. Recap - Pete Hayda: Maybe reallocate some funds for Vail Soul Music Fest? They do a good job
marketing to their clientele and the VLMD could help them market to locals. The Bike race –
the Gran Fondo – should receive money as well. Pete Hayda: Motion to approve allocating
$50,000 of marketing funds: $25,000to Mojo Man and $25,000 to Vail Restaurant Month.
Motioned/John Dawsey. Seconded/Laurie Mullen. Approved unanimously. (on the phone-
Mia Vlaar and Beth Slifer). Susie Tjossem: It takes a lot of courage to cut funding from
events that have been here a long time. TOV could use some advice on infrastructure to
sustain different events, for example - a town wide sound system. Regarding America Days,
a discussion during the December 6th council meeting will take place.
V. 2012 Tactics –
a. SITE Marketing. Meggen Kirkham: There needs to be a group effort among all the
partners. See power point for details of tactics, budgets and timelines. Booyah! with
Brian on the phone: They described details about SEO, vail.com and Destino Vail sites.
See slide for Destination Timeline. Meggen Kirkham: Front Range Market Tactics -
newspaper and TV are the two prime mediums they will use. This year there will be a
more robust TV presence. It is important that messaging is more focused on specific
products and events, especially on TV. They want to make sure the campaigns are
layered (TV, social media campaigns, etc.). See slide for Front Range Market Budget.
Pete Hayda: Are the Master Calendars really used? Kelli McDonald: Yes, the business
community likes them.
b. Mexico – Wholesale Consumer Tactics Site – see slide. Cross-Marketing ideas – An idea
is a focus on summer promotion during Semana Santa. Add video in Spanish and
Portuguese on website. It is important to work with the summer activity vendors to
form relationships between wholesalers and vendors. Mexico – Wholesale Consumer
Budget – last year’s budget was around $60,000. This year there will be a larger
investment. Mexico – PR Tactics – New dollars for ongoing pitching to keep the
opportunities coming. Looking at Brazil as well, but waiting for Vail Resorts to start
marketing to them and see how that goes. John Dawsey: What might be some
milestones to evaluate the success of these efforts? Skip Thurnauer: Are there emails
going out in Spanish? What about signage in Spanish? Kelli McDonald: Yes, there is a
signage initiative in place for 2012.
c. PR Tactics – Kristin Yantis. The Burke research will come in soon and the messages will
be tightened up. See slide for details. Trying to get more creative and more out of
editorial opportunities. Packaging is also very important. PR Budget – details on slide.
Timeline/Milestones – see slide for details.
d. Group sales – Jessica Stevens. Tactics – Kelli McDonald. VLMD is not contracting with I-
Openers or Reach Advisors and shifted budget to the VVP for recruiting programs and
events. Timeline- see slide for details.
e. Brand Marketing Coordination – Meggen Kirkham. It is important to make sure all the
marketing that goes out is aligned. A layered integrated approach is desired. $45,000
was allocated for ambassador video distribution through Plum TV/ TV8 in 2011. New,
shorter videos are needed which pertain to different events. Shorter videos are more
distribution friendly. Laurie Mullen: By making a video with runners or hikers in mind, it
makes the video more personal, as opposed to a more lofty video with a broad theme.
f. Approvals on budgets, tactics and timeline – Motion to accept vendor tactical plan as
presented. Motioned/John Dawsey. Seconded/Skip Thurnauer. Approved unanimously.
Ilene Rapkin on the phone: I-opener proposal discussion. Ilene requested funding of
$18,000. Motion to accept proposal from I-Openers. Motioned/John Dawsey. Seconded/
Susie Tjossem. Approved unanimously.
VI. Other Business
a. Seats opening on Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council and applications are due
December 13 by 5:00 p.m. to the Town Clerk.
VII. Adjournment. Motion to accept adjournment. Motioned/Laurie Mullen. Seconded/John Dawsey.
Passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 11:05.
VIII. Upcoming meetings:
a. December 15, VLMDAC Meeting, 8:30-11:00am, The Antlers Lodge